10 employees
Annual licence for up to 10 employees.
R4 476/mo
per year
- SARS statutory tables
- EMP201 figures
- IRP5 printing
- Email payslips
- Leave administration
Sage Pastel Payroll vs Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Verified ratings, feature-by-feature comparison and rand pricing — everything a South African business needs to pick between these two.
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Online payroll from R90 a month with legislation that updates itself
4,1(238)
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Ratings
Every score, at a glance
Verified user ratings across every dimension — Sage Pastel Payroll against Sage Business Cloud Payroll, nothing weighted.
Dimensions won
1 – 1
Sage Pastel Payroll vs Sage Business Cloud Payroll, across 5 rating dimensions
Widest rating gap
+0,1
Sage Pastel Payroll leads on ease of use
Verified reviews
489
251 for Sage Pastel Payroll, 238 for Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Sage Pastel Payroll
4,1
251 verified reviews
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
4,1
238 verified reviews
Ratings by dimension
- Sage Pastel Payroll
- Sage Business Cloud Payroll
Overall
4,1
4,1
Ease of use
4,1
4,0
Value for money
4,0
4,1
Customer service
4,0
4,0
Functionality
4,0
4,0
Share of verified reviews
Who South African reviewers actually write about.
- Sage Pastel Payroll (251)
- Sage Business Cloud Payroll (238)
Cost to get started
Cheapest paid plan, shown per month (annual plans divided by 12).
Sage Pastel Payroll
R373/mo
Sage Business Cloud Payroll
R90/mo
Sage Business Cloud Payroll is the cheaper way in. Lower isn't automatically better — weigh it against the ratings above.
Head to head
Where each one wins
Row by row, with the stronger score highlighted. Straight from verified reviews.
| Sage Pastel Payroll | Sage Business Cloud Payroll | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 4,1 | 4,1 |
| Reviews | 251 | 238 |
| Ease of use | 4,1 | 4,0 |
| Value for money | 4,0 | 4,1 |
| Customer service | 4,0 | 4,0 |
| Functionality | 4,0 | 4,0 |
| Starting price | R4 476/yr | R90/mo |
| Free trial | No | Yes |
Features
Feature by feature, checked off
Everything each product ships, side by side. No marketing gloss.
| Feature | Sage Pastel Payroll | Sage Business Cloud Payroll |
|---|---|---|
| PAYE, UIF and SDL calculations | ||
| EMP201 monthly reporting | ||
| EMP501 reconciliation twice a year | ||
| IRP5 and IT3(a) printing | ||
| Exports for e@syFile | ||
| Email payslips | ||
| Leave administration | ||
| Multiple pay frequencies | ||
| ETI handling | ||
| Bank file exports for EFT payments | ||
| Automatic PAYE, UIF and SDL updates | ||
| Guided pay run process | ||
| Weekly, fortnightly and monthly pay cycles | ||
| UIF declarations | ||
| Leave management | ||
| ACB bank payment files | ||
| Real time calculations | ||
| Unlimited companies and users | ||
| Predefined legislative and payroll reports |
Pricing
Both price lists, in rand
Every plan from both vendors, priced as South African teams actually pay.
Sage Pastel Payroll plans
Get started
30 employees
Annual licence for up to 30 employees.
R12 648/mo
per year
- Everything in the smaller tiers
- Multiple pay frequencies
- e@syFile exports
50 employees
Annual licence for up to 50 employees.
R16 560/mo
per year
- GL integration with Sage 50c Partner
- ETI handling
- Bank file exports
100 employees
Annual licence for up to 100 employees. Larger tiers available up to 500 staff.
R23 844/mo
per year
- Scales to 500 employees
- Advanced reporting
- Payroll support included
Straight from the vendor
Get current pricing
These are list prices in rand and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Sage for the figure you'll actually pay.
Sage Business Cloud Payroll plans
2 employees
Full product for up to 2 employees. Price includes VAT.
R90/mo
per month
- Automatic legislative updates
- Unlimited companies and users
- Email payslips
- UIF declarations
10 employees
Up to 10 employees. Price includes VAT.
R401/mo
per month
- Weekly, fortnightly and monthly cycles
- Leave management
- Real time calculations
25 employees
Up to 25 employees. Price includes VAT.
R951/mo
per month
- Predefined legislative and payroll reports
- ACB payment files
- Integrates with Sage Accounting
50 employees
Up to 50 employees. Larger tiers run to 200 employees at R4,182 per month.
R1 712/mo
per month
- Everything in smaller tiers
- Scales to 200 employees
Straight from the vendor
Get current pricing
These are list prices in rand and vendors adjust them from time to time. Check with Sage for the figure you'll actually pay.
Verdict
Our verdict
Sage against Sage: the desktop stalwart versus the cloud successor. Pastel Payroll handles complexity the cloud version cannot yet touch, up to 500 employees with deep statutory depth, but you install updates every year and live on one machine. Business Cloud Payroll updates itself, runs anywhere and costs less at small headcounts. Under 25 employees with simple needs, go cloud; complex or larger payrolls stay on desktop for now.